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Saturday, September 7, 2013

The Book of Me - Prompt 2: Your Birth

[Editor's Note: The Book of Me is a series of writing prompts focusing on lifestreaming or preserving one's own memories rather than those of our ancestors and family members. Click here to read more.]

This week's prompt for The Book of Me focuses on birth and coming on to life's stage. Many readers have already read my birth story which is a bit more unusual than most, but here it is again.

I was born on 25 December 1962 in a small town of about 5,000 people in upstate New York called Liberty. I was not due until around 1 January and my mother went into labor without even knowing what had happened. I was her first born and as I remember her telling me, she always had to go to the bathroom quite a bit when she carried me. So, when her water broke, she had no idea that the labor process had started.

She went through the entire Christmas Eve going to family functions and even attending Midnight Mass. As was common in my Irish family, everyone would go back home and play cards and drink through the night. Well, about 4:00 am Mom realized that her bundle of joy was arriving a bit early.

I was delivered on a Tuesday at 6:50 am at Maimonides Hospital which is no longer open, but here is a current photo. I've been told that since I was a Christmas baby I was placed in a stocking and then in a bassinet in the maternity ward, yet I can't seem to find any photo to prove this!

The photo above was taken in my first year, 1963 in Liberty. The one thing I remember most from my family stories is that I was a fussy and colicky baby . . . quite a handful even at a young age. Many would say that I still am!

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What happens when a “tech guy” with a love for history gets laid off during The Great Recession of 2008? You get Thomas MacEntee, a genealogy professional based in the United States who is also a blogger, educator, author, social media connector, online community builder and more.
Thomas was laid off after a 25-year career in the information technology field, so he started his own genealogy-related business called High Definition Genealogy. He also created an online community of over 3,000 family history bloggers known as GeneaBloggers. His most recent endeavor, Hack Genealogy, is an attempt to “re-purpose today’s technology for tomorrow’s genealogy.”
Thomas describes himself as a lifelong learner with a background in a multitude of topics who has finally figured out what he does best: teach, inspire, instigate, and serve as a curator and go-to-guy for concept nurturing and inspiration.
Thomas is a big believer in success, and that we all succeed when we help each other find success.